Monday, December 12, 2005

Moondust allergy?

Since last week, I have been reading Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth (no I'm not really a slow reader ... I just don't have that much time!) written by Andrew Smith. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like that book, but then, once the author started interviewing (or trying to) the Apollo astronauts, things really started to get interesting. Throughout his various encounters, Mr Smith shows us sides of these men that few people have ever seen. Altought they all have accomplished more than most of us will ever dream to, they are far from been the perfect men we like to think they are. I couldn't help but feel sadness when reading that most of them charge money for an autograph (the price depending if they are moonwalkers and if they were CDR, CMP or LMP). I guess this can be understandable when finance is an issue, but it still doesn't sounds all that right to me. The way fame have tormented some of them is also rendered in the book in a way that really make you think about how you will act if you were to meet them. Will you act like most people and ask them the same questions they have been asked over the past 30 years? Will you ask them for an autograph? It really made me think about the way I'd like to be treated if I was a celebrities (thanks god I'll never be!), and that really make understandable the behavior of Armstrong and Young, which are well known for their resistance to any public attention. By mixing his own childhood memories with the recollections of these now senior citizens, the author paint a rather dark but vively picture of the time that gave birth to the Apollo program ... It sure make the whole experience looks less romantic :-(